Russian drone crashes in Latvia, Ukraine bans calls home for Russian prisoners - Weekend brief

Russia's war against Ukraine: Latest

News for September 7

• Air defense forces destroyed all Shaheds drones heading towards Kyiv - KRMA
• Fire and explosion occurred at ammunition depot due to drone attack in Russia
• North Korean missiles destroyed at Voronezh region military warehouse
• Ukrainian drones attack ammunition depot in Russia's Voronezh region, sources

News for September 8

• Belgorod region fuel storage site on fire: Russians claim drone attack
• Russia struck Sumy: Fatalities and wounded reported
• Russia can attack Ukraine's infrastructure with Iranian Fatex-360 missiles - ISW
• Russia fires Kh-59 missiles and over 20 drones at Ukraine: Air defense response

Russian drone crashes in Latvia, investigation underway

Russian drones are falling down not only in Ukraine. In particular, a similar incident occurred in Latvia, according to Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.

According to him, a Russian military drone crashed in the eastern part of the country yesterday. As of now, an investigation is underway.

Delfi writes that according to the information available to the National Armed Forces (NAF), the drone entered the country's airspace from Belarus.

On the night of September 7-8, Russian forces breached Romanian airspace, with strike drones entering the country

Trump and Harris appear even in final stretch of presidential race - NYT

There are less than two months left before the US presidential election. Candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have effectively equalized their chances of winning, according to Reuters and The New York Times.

According to the NYT and Siena College poll, Republican Trump's approval rating is one percentage point higher than Democrat Harris's (48% vs. 47%). This difference fits within the poll's three percentage point margin of error, meaning that a victory for either candidate in the November 5 election is within reach.

Reuters notes that Trump's campaign has been going through a rough patch since US President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July. However, the poll shows that the core of his support base will not go away.

Ukraine bans calls home for Russian prisoners - Ombudsman

Ukraine has banned Russian prisoners of war (POWs) from making phone calls home. This decision was made in response to the increasing number of executions of Ukrainian defenders, according to the Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

Lubinets stated, "I'll be frank, we are making some changes. For example, there have been many discussions about the possibility of Russian POWs calling their relatives in Russia... As of now, we've been informed that while Russians still can write letters, they no longer have the right to make phone calls."

Lubinets emphasized that the phone call ban does not violate the Geneva Convention. The document allows for correspondence but does not mandate phone calls for prisoners.

Crimean Bridge suffers structural degradation after Ukrainian army strikes

The Crimean Bridge needs urgent repairs. The structures are degrading after the strikes by the Ukrainian armed forces, state the partisans from the ATESH movement.

According to the partisans, the bridge's structural elements are degrading, leading to the crumbling of its individual parts.

US intelligence says that Russia promotes Trump and acts more subtly than before

US intelligence officials have stated that in swing states, Russia is attempting to shape the outcome in favor of former President Donald Trump. Their influence efforts are reportedly more advanced than before, reports The Washington Post.

According to a briefing by a senior official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Russia's activities are more sophisticated than in previous election cycles. The official noted that Russia is using real US voices to launder Russian government propaganda and spread divisive narratives on social media and fake websites that pose as legitimate American media outlets.

West's proper response to attacks on Lviv would be to send Tomahawks

The right response from Ukraine's Western partners to Russian missile attacks on Lviv and other cities would be to provide Tomahawk missiles. This would allow the destruction of Russian strategic aviation, states Yehor Chernev, Head of the Permanent Ukrainian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The correct response from our partners (to the attacks on Lviv, Kryvyi Rih, and Poltava - ed.) would be to provide us with Tomahawks capable of flying 2000-2500 kilometers and hitting strategic bombers somewhere in the Omsk region, in Olenya, where they take off from,” Chernev emphasized.

He explained that even a permit for long-range weapons would not solve the problem.